Construction system

ABSTRACT

A building construction system comprising: a primary support member having a first end and a second end, an inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a secondary support member having a first end and a second end, inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a first beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part, where the outer facing part of the first connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and an outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member, and where outer facing part of the first beam comprises a spacer element that is configured to extend from the primary support member to the secondary support member where an outer facing part of the spacer element is configured to be coextensive to the outer facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the secondary support member.

TECHNICAL FIELD

A building construction system comprising a primary structural member, a secondary structural member and a beam connecting the primary structural member and the secondary structural member.

BACKGROUND

In modern building construction, buildings are often constructed by providing a foundation and a building structure is raised on top of the foundation. In traditional building construction, the building structures may be brick houses, concrete houses and steel structure houses, where the building structure is relatively expensive in both time and material.

It is a goal of the present disclosure to present a building construction system that is relatively simple, creating a skeleton for a building structure, where the skeleton may be fitted with building elements in an easy and simple manner, to reduce the construction cost of the housing, and to create a system that can be premanufactured in centralized areas, and quickly raised in decentralized areas, where a construction of a one family home may be done in days after a foundation has been created.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In accordance with the present description, there is provided a building construction system comprising: a primary (vertical) support member having a first end and a second end, an inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a secondary (vertical) support member having a first end and a second end, inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a first (horizontal) beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part, where the outer facing part of the first connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and an outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member, and where outer facing part of the first beam comprises a spacer element that is configured to extend from the primary support member to the secondary support member where an outer facing part of the spacer element is configured to be coextensive to the outer facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the secondary support member i.e. that they surfaces are co-planar or coaxial, i.e. that the surface of the spacer element outwards the same distance as the outer surface of the support member (such as the surface of the spacer element is flush with the outer surface of the support member).

An advantage of the present disclosure is that the building construction system may be assembled and disassembled in fast and simple manner. The building construction system may for example easily be disassembled and moved to another location. Further, the building construction system may be disassembled and re-used for another building construction. In other words, the building construction system may provide a circular system where substantially all the parts of the system may be reused.

A further advantage is that the building construction system is flexible in the way that further building construction systems may be combined with existing building construction systems (for example for providing an additional room to a house and/or an additional floor to a house). This may be provided in a simple manner, since the roof on the building construction system may be easily removed and put on again.

The present building construction system may be adapted to provide a simplified frame for constructing outer walls of a building structure, where the outer walls may be applied directly to the primary and secondary vertical support members as well as the first beam. The spacer element of the first beam and the outer facing part of the primary and secondary support members creates a planar part that is configured to provide a connecting surface that is coextensive from the primary vertical support member, across the horizontal beam and towards the secondary support member. This means that the connecting surface may be seen as a surface where the outer facing part of the primary and secondary support members and the first beam extends along a straight line from the primary support member to the secondary support member. The primary and secondary support members may be arranged vertically during use, where the first beam extends from the primary support member to the secondary support member, and mechanically connects the primary support member to the secondary connection member via the beam, which may be positioned horizontally between the two support members. Thus, a longitudinal axis of the beam may be perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member, when they are used to construct a building. In some embodiments, the spacer element may be provided (such as attached to) to the building construction system at a later stage. For example, the spacer element may be provided prior to or simultaneously with the provision (such as attachment) of the building element. The spacer element may be attached to the first beam, a second beam, the primary support member, and/or the secondary support member with the use of an attachment means, such as mechanical fasteners, such as bolts, nuts, screws, and/or rivets or other suitable attachment means. In some embodiments, the spacer element may comprise or consist of one or more parts (such as sub-parts or sub-sections forming together the spacer element).

The primary and secondary support members may have a longitudinal axis that extends in a vertical direction during use, where the support members may have a length (along the longitudinal axis) that may correspond to an outer wall of the building, i.e. approximately 1.5 meters, 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 3.5 m, 4 m, 4.5 m, 5 m, 6 m, 10 m or longer. The outer facing outer facing part of the primary and secondary support members along the longitudinal axis may be parallel to the longitudinal axis, so that the outer facing part of the beam or the spacer part of the beam, and the outer facing part of the support member may in the same plane, so that the outer facing surfaces may be configured to receive a planar building element, or at least a building element having peripheral areas that have a common two dimensional plane.

In one embodiment the building element may have a rectangular shape, where the building element has an upper edge, lower edge, a first vertical edge and a second vertical edge.

The planar outer facing parts of the support elements and the beam means that the construction frame can easily be mounted from few elements and providing a simple and a uniform frame to provide outer walls for a building. The spacer element on the beam means that the beam may be mounted to the back side of the support element, and the spacer, which extends between the primary and secondary support elements, ensures that the outer surface of the support member and the outer surface of the beam, and the spacer, is coextensive, i.e. that they surfaces are co-planar or coaxial, i.e. that the surface of the beam extends outwards the same distance as the outer surface of the support member (such as the surface of the spacer element is flush with the outer surface of the support member). The spacer element may for example be mounted to the beam by being hung on the beam and then attached with attachment means to the beam. The spacer element may be hung on the beam by comprising a hook that may be hung on the beam.

The beam may be attached to an inner facing surface of the support member, where the attachment may be configured to fix the longitudinal axis of the beam relative to the longitudinal axis of the support member, so that when a force is applied to the beam, in a direction that is at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the beam, the force may be transferred to the support member. The attachment may be in the form of one or more bolts that extend from the support member, where the beam may have one or more openings to receive the bolts, and the beam may thereby be fastened to the support member by tensioning a nut on the opposite side of the beam.

In one embodiment the building construction system may comprise a building element having an inner surface and an outer surface, where the inner surface is configured to be attached to the outer facing part of the primary and/or secondary support member and the outer facing part of the first beam. The building element may have an outer surface area that is at least 200% larger than the outer surfaces of the support elements and the beam combined. The building element may e.g. be seen as a wall structure, where the wall structure may be attached to the beam and the support members, so that the support member and the beam, when attached to the building element, provide support to at least two sides of the building element, and thereby providing both a horizontal and a vertical support to the building element, allowing the building element to be utilized as an outer wall of a building structure.

In one embodiment the building element may be a fibreglass sheet. The fibreglass sheet may be formed as a single sheet, where the peripheral area of the fibreglass sheet is adapted to have an inner surface area that corresponds to the outer surface of the support members and the beam, so that when the sheet is applied to the outer surface of the support member and the beam, the fibreglass sheet abuts the outer facing surface. This therefore means that when the fibreglass sheet is applied to the primary support member and the secondary support member, as well as the first beam, the fibreglass sheet abuts the whole outer facing surface equadistally. This may also mean that when the fibreglass sheet is applied to the support members and the beam, there is no space between inner surface of the sheet and the outer surface of the support members and the beam. However, within the understanding of the present disclosure, an intermediate layer may be positioned between the two surfaces, e.g. for providing a seal or similar. The fibreglass structure (wall, sheet) may be mould to predefined sizes, where the sizes correspond to the height of the structural members and/or the beams, so that the fibreglass structure may fit directly to the structure when it has been erected.

The building element may be positioned on the primary and secondary structural members and the beam in such a manner that the primary and secondary structural members attach to an opposing vertical sides of the building element, while the beam extends horizontally across a horizontal side of the building element.

In one embodiment the building element may have two or more attachment members that extend from the inner surface of the building element, where the attachment members may be adapted to mate with opposing attachment members on the primary support member, the secondary support member and/or the first beam. The attachment members may e.g. be in the form of a one or more threaded bolts that extend from the inner surface of the sheet. The attachment members may be moulded directly into the inner surface of the building element, where the attachment members do not extend through the building element. I.e. that the attachment member does extends into the material thickness of the building element, without extending from the outer surface of the building element. The attachment members may be coupled to the building element in such a manner that the attachment member may not be rotated along its rotational axis. I.e. that the attachment member is fixedly attached to the building element in a rotational direction. Thus, a fastening member, such as a threaded nut, may be threaded onto the attachment member where the attachment member does not rotate along with the nut. In some embodiments, the building element may be attached to the building construction system (such as attached to the primary support member, the secondary support member, the first beam and/or the second beam) by means of an adhesive (such as glued). For example, building elements such as the walls, the floor, and/or the roof may be attached by an adhesive to the building construction system without the use of screws, rivets, bolts or the like. This may provide a faster and easier way of attaching the building element to the building construction system, for example compared to screws, rivets, bolts or the like.

In one embodiment an inner surface of the building element may be planar. The building element may be a planar element, where the planar element may have an inner surface area that is parallel to the outer facing surface of the primary support member, the secondary support member and the first beam.

The building element may have a horizontal dimension that corresponds substantially to the combined distance of the first beam when the first beam is connected to the primary support member and the secondary support member. This means that for each building element, the underlying building structure may include a primary and a secondary support member and a first beam.

In one embodiment a peripheral area of the building element may comprise a connecting surface which is configured to abut the outer facing part of the first beam and an outer facing part of the primary and/or the secondary support member. The connecting surface may be positioned on the building element in the areas where the primary and secondary structural members, as well as the beam intersects the building element. Thus, the connecting surface may be positioned on an inner facing surface of the building element, so that when the building element is attached to the primary and secondary structural members, as well as the beam the outer facing surface of the primary and secondary structural members, as well as the beam abuts the inner facing surface of the building element.

In one embodiment the system may further comprise a foundation, where the first end of the primary and/or the secondary support members are configured to be attached to the foundation. The foundation may be a prepared ground or a base on which the building construction system may be rest upon. A first end of the primary and/or the secondary support members may be mounted in the foundation, where the primary and/or the secondary support members extend in a vertical direction from the foundation, where primary and/or the secondary support members terminate in a free upper end (second end). The primary and/or the secondary support members may be spaced apart at a predefined distance when mounted in the foundation, where the predefined distance may e.g. be corresponding to the length of the beam to be used to connect the primary and/or the secondary support members via a horizontal connection, where the horizontal connection is spaced apart from the foundation. In one embodiment the beam is positioned at a distance that is at least 1.5 metres from the foundation in a vertical direction. The construction system may comprise first beams, where one first beams may have a length that is different from the length of a second first beam. As an example, a first beam may have a length of 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m. The length of the beam may e.g. be defined as the distance from the primary support member to the secondary support member.

In one embodiment the outer facing part of the first beam and the outer facing part of the primary and/or secondary support members may be configured to be coextensive along at least one horizontal axis. This means that if a straight line is drawn across the primary and/or the secondary support members and the beam, the straight line would touch the outer facing part of the first beam and the outer facing part of the primary and/or secondary support members. Thus, the construction system may be provided with an attachment surface that is substantially planar, where a building element may be attached to the construction system.

In one embodiment the spacer may have a first thickness which may correspond to a second thickness, where the second thickness is the distance from the inner facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member to the outer facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member, respectively. Thus, the spacer may have the same thickness as the thickness of the support member, so that when the beam is attached to the inner facing surface of the support members, the spacer, which is positioned on the outer facing part of the beam fills out the area/volume extending between the two support members, to create a continuous surface from the primary support member to the secondary support member via a surface area of the spacer.

In one embodiment the first connecting part of the first beam may be configured to be attached to an inner facing surface of the primary support member, and/or where the second connecting part of the first beam may be configured to be attached to an inner facing surface of the secondary primary support member. Thus, the beam is may be configured to be mounted on an inner facing part of the support members, which means that an outer facing part of the first and/or the second connecting part abuts the inner surface of the support member.

In one embodiment the inner facing part of the first beam may comprise a vertical reinforcement member that extends downwards from the first beam and in a downwards direction. The reinforcement member may be adapted to provide vertical support to a central part of the beam, so that any force that is applied to a central part of the beam may be transmitted in a downwards direction towards a secondary structure, such as a foundation, a base, or any structure that may be capable of providing a counterforce to the reinforcement member.

In one embodiment the first beam may comprise a flange creating a horizontal support—flange extends a first length, where the first length is at least 60% of the length of the first beam. The first length may be at least 70% of the length of the first beam, or the first length may be at least 80% of the length of the first beam. The flange may extend a predefined direction away from the inner facing part of the first beam, where the flange may extend horizontally, when the beam is mounted to the support members. The flange may be utilized to provide a foundation for a floor or a ceiling structure, where the floor or the ceiling structure may be anchored to the horizontal flange. In case the building structure system comprises a second first beam that may be positioned in parallel to the first beam where the second first beam creates a mounting structure for an opposing building element, one or more horizontal structures may extend from the first beam to the second first beam, where the horizontal structures are anchored on the horizontal flange. This means that the horizontal structure may create a support structure for a ceiling to be mounted between the beams, or in case that the beam creates a separation between a ground floor and a first floor the flange may be utilized to support a floor, as well as a ceiling. In accordance with the above, the flange be a horizontal structure that extends from the first beam but may also be understood as being any kind of part that where a support structure may be mounted. The support structure may be mounted on an upper part of the flange, and/or may hang from a lower part of the flange, and/or may extend directly outwards from the flange. The support structure may be attached directly to the flange, or may be mounted using mounting brackets that ensure that the support structure cannot move in a horizontal direction, and ensure that the support structure is supported from below, so that any force that is applied to the support structure is transmitted to the flange, the first beam, the support member and towards the base.

In one embodiment the system may comprise a second beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part. The second beam may be configured to be attached to a lower part of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member. The second beam may have all the same elements as a first beam as disclosed as above, and may be mounted in a similar fashion to the support members as the first beam. By providing a second beam, the building construction system may be provided with a second horizontal member, where the second horizontal member may e.g. be utilized to secure a lower part of a building element to the building construction system, ensuring that the building element is attached to the building construction system in at least four places, i.e. on top, on bottom, on a first vertical side and a second vertical side. This means that the building element may be secured from all sides, especially when the building element is rectangular in shape.

In one or more embodiments, the primary and/or secondary support member comprise one or more openings.

The one or more openings may be denoted mounting holes, for example such that attachment members may be inserted in the openings (such as mounted in the mounting holes) and thereby providing an attachment of one or more parts of the building construction system to the primary and/or secondary support member.

The one or more openings may be substantially circular, but may for example have other cross-sectional shapes, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, cross-shaped, and/or star-shaped. The openings may be located on each part of the support member (such as on each leg of an L-shaped support member). In some embodiments, the primary and/or secondary support member may comprise at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings (such as at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings on each leg). The primary and/or secondary support member may comprise equivalent openings on the outer surface, or alternatively the openings on the inner surface may be extending through the thickness of the support member and extend through to the outer surface from the inner surface.

In one or more embodiments, the one or more openings comprise one or more attachment arrangements. The one or more attachment arrangements may for example comprise one or more threads and/or nuts (such as a fastening nut).

In some embodiments, the building element may be attached to the building construction system (such as attached to the primary support member, the secondary support member, the first beam and/or the second beam) by means of an adhesive (such as glued). For example, building elements such as the walls, the floor, and/or the roof may be attached by an adhesive to the building construction system without the use of screws, rivets, bolts or the like.

The one or more openings may be configured to provide a support for an attachment means. In other words, the openings may comprise or form part of an attachment arrangement for attaching one or more parts of the building construction system to the primary and/or secondary support member. For example, the first beam and/or the second beam may be attached to an inner facing part of the primary and/or secondary support member, where the connection may occur in the first and/or the second connection area. The attachment may be done using mechanical fasteners, such as bolts, nuts, screws, and/or rivets or other suitable attachment means. Thus, the primary support member and the secondary support member may thereby provide an outer surface which a building element may be attached to, where the outer surface of the spacer element may provide an attachment surface for the building element, in a horizontal manner, where the building element may be attached along the length of the first beam. The two surfaces are in the same plane to each other, which means that a building element, such as a flat wall may be attached directly to the surface area, where there will be no space between the outer surface and the wall. For example, a building element (such as a wall element) may comprise a plurality of layers (such as plates). When such a building element is attached to the building construction system, it may therefore be advantageous to provide the attachment means (such as bolts, nuts, screws, and/or rivets) in way such that the attachment means only goes through a first layer (such as a first plate) of the building element, such that the attachment means is not visible on the opposite side (such as opposite surface) with respect to the attachment side (such as attachment surface).

In one or more embodiments, the primary and/or secondary support member comprise a support member reinforcement at the inner facing part.

In one or more embodiments, the support member reinforcement has an L-shaped or arc-shaped cross-section.

The support member reinforcement may for example have an L-shaped cross section. The support member reinforcement may provide a hollow space between the support member reinforcement and the support member. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may be full (such as a reinforcement bar) and may therefore not provide a hollow space between the support member reinforcement and the support member. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may for example have an arc-shaped cross-section. The support member reinforcement may provide an increased structural strength of the support member, thereby providing increased structural stability of the support member and in turn of the building construction system. The support member reinforcement may provide an increased stability for example when the support member is attached to the foundation.

In one or more embodiments, the first beam and/or the second beam comprise one or more openings. The one or more openings may provide a support for an attachment means. For example, the spacer element may be attached to the first beam and/or the second beam with the use of the one or more openings. The one or more openings of the first beam and/or the second beam may be aligned with the one or more openings of the primary and/or secondary support member, and thereby be used to attach the first and/or the second beam to the primary and/or secondary support member.

In one or more embodiments, the first beam and/or the second beam comprise a beam reinforcement. For example, the beam reinforcement may have an L-shaped or arc-shaped cross-section.

In one or more embodiments, the first beam is configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member.

The first beam being configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member may comprise that the first connecting part is configured to be pivotably attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be pivotably attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member. Pivotably attached may for example comprise attachment arrangements such as one or more bearings, ball-joints, or similar pivotable arrangements or means. An advantage of having the first beam being configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member is that the building construction system may be folded and unfolded in a simple manner. For example, the building construction system may be folded and unfolded by pushing or pulling at a corner of the building construction system. A further advantage of being able to fold the building construction system is that the building construction system may be produced and assembled at a factory and then transported out to a construction site in a compact manner. Furthermore, the building construction system may be assembled at the construction site in faster and simpler manner. The fact that the building construction system is already substantially assembled provides the construction workers with an easier task when using the building construction system. For example, there would be no need to verify the dimensions of the different parts of the building construction system, since it is already assembled and may be folded out by pulling in a corner of the building construction system.

In one or more embodiments, the second beam is configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member.

The second beam being configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member may comprise that the first connecting part is configured to be pivotably attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be pivotably attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member.

In one embodiment the primary support member, the secondary support member, the first beam, the second beam, the spacer, the reinforcement member, or any part of the construction system may be constructed out of steel, stainless steel, aluminium, composite materials, or any suitable material that can provide a constructional integrity of the construction system. The first beam may be denoted upper beam and the second beam may be denoted lower beam or vice-versa.

The inner facing part and the outer facing part may respectively be denoted as (such as understood as) inner facing surface and outer facing surface.

The building construction system may be provided as a module, for example a 2 m*2 m module, 3 m*3 m module, 4 m*4 m module, 5 m*5 m module, 6 m*6 m module or larger,

Various exemplary embodiments and details are described hereinafter, with reference to the figures when relevant. It should be noted that the figures may or may not be drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are represented by like reference numerals throughout the figures. It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention or as a limitation on the scope of the invention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment needs not have all the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage described in conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limited to that embodiment and can be practiced in any other embodiments even if not so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following is an explanation of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a building construction system,

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view of a part of a building construction system,

FIG. 3 shows a cross sectional view of a building construction system having ceiling beams,

FIG. 4 shows a front view of a construction system,

FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of a support member according to the invention,

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 5A,

FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of a support member according to the invention, and

FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 6A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not imply any particular order, but are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Note that the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used here and elsewhere for labelling purposes only and are not intended to denote any specific spatial or temporal ordering.

Furthermore, the labelling of a first element does not imply the presence of a second element and vice versa.

FIG. 1 shows a building construction system 1, where the building construction system comprises a primary support member 2 having a first end 4 and a second end 5, and a secondary support member 3 having a first end 6 and a second end 7. The first end 4 of the primary support member 2 and the first end 6 of the secondary support member 3 are attached to a foundation 8, where the foundation may e.g. be a concrete foundation, where the first ends 4, 6 are mould into the foundation 8 so that the support members 2, 3 are vertical. The second ends 5, 7 of the support members 2, 3 are free ends and extend vertically into the air, where the free ends may e.g. be utilized to mount a roof (not shown) on the building structure 1, where the roof structure may be attached to the second ends 5, 7 of the support members. In some embodiments, a further floor may be provided on top of the building construction system. Further building construction systems may be combined with the existing building construction system (for example for providing an additional room to a house and/or an additional floor to a house). This may be provided in a simple manner, since the roof on the building construction system may be easily removed and put on again. The building construction system 1, has an inner facing area 9 that faces the inside of the building and an outer facing area 10 that faces the outside of the building. The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 may comprise an inner facing surface 11, 12 and an outer facing surface 13, 14, respectively, where the surfaces 11-14 may extend along the entire length of the support member. The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, may comprise a first proximal end 25 and a second proximal end 26, that face each other when the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 have been anchored in the foundation 8.

The primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 may e.g. be in the form of an angled elongated member, where the elongated member may have a first part and a second part 16 that are perpendicular to each other, where the first 15 and the second part 16 provide resistance to bending forces in the plane of the part that is perpendicular to the other part. The support members may be constructed of any suitable material, of any suitable thickness, where choice of material may depend on the use of the material, and the size of the building. An example may be a support member made out of steel, having a 10 mm thickness.

The construction system also includes a first beam 17, where the first beam comprises a first connection area 18 and a second connecting area 19, where the first connection area comprises an outer facing surface 20 and the second connection area comprises an outer facing surface 21. The beam may comprise a spacer element 22, where the spacer element 22 may extend from an outer facing part 23 of the first beam 17, where the spacer element has an outer surface 24 that is adapted to be coextensive with the outer facing surface 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, by where the spacer fills out the volume defined by the proximal ends 25, 26 and an outer facing part of the first beam 17, and an imaginary plane, which may e.g. be in the form of a wall (not shown). This means that the spacer element 22 provides an attachment surface 24 for a wall, where the attachment surface is in the same plane as the outer facing parts 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3. Within the understanding of the present disclosure, the spacer element may be a part of the first beam, or may be a separate element that may be attached to an outer surface of the first beam 17. The connection areas 18, 19 of the first 17 and/or second beam 27.

The construction system may also include a second beam 27, where the second beam comprises a first connection area 18 and a second connecting area 19, where the first connection area comprises an outer facing surface 20 and the second connection area comprises an outer facing surface 21. The beam may comprise a spacer element 22, where the spacer element 22 may extend from an outer facing part 23 of the second beam 27, where the spacer element has an outer surface 24 that is adapted to be coextensive with the outer facing surface 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, by where the spacer fills out the volume defined by the proximal ends 25, 26 and an outer facing part of the second beam 27, and an imaginary plane, which may e.g. be in the form of a wall (not shown). This means that the spacer element 22 provides an attachment surface 24 for a wall, where the attachment surface is in the same plane as the outer facing parts 13, 14 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3. Within the understanding of the present disclosure, the spacer element may be a part of the second beam 27, or may be a separate element that may be attached to an outer surface of the second beam 27. The second beam may be used to secure a lower part of a building element (not shown) such as a wall section.

The outer facing surfaces 20, 21 of the connection areas 18, 19 of the first 17 and/or second beam 27 may be offset in a inwards direction to the outer surface 24 of the spacer element 22 and/or the first beam 17, where the offset is substantially the thickness of the first proximal end 25 and/or the first proximal end 26 of secondary support member.

The first beam 17 may further comprise a horizontal reinforcement member 28, which may extend along the horizontal length of the first beam 17, where the horizontal reinforcement member 28 extends a distance inwards from an inner facing surface 29 of the first beam 17, where the horizontal reinforcement member 28 may comprise a surface area 30, which may be utilized to providing a mounting surface for e.g. a support structure (as seen in FIG. 3). The horizontal reinforcement member 28 may extend at a perpendicular angle from the first beam 17, and may have a function to provide resistance to bending forces in the plane of the part that is perpendicular to the other part. Thus, the first beam 17 may increase the strength of the horizontal reinforcement member 28, while the horizontal reinforcement member 28 may increase the strength of the first beam 17.

When the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 have been anchored in the foundation 8, the first beam 17 may be attached to an inner facing part 11, 12 of the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, where the connection occurs in the first 18 and second connection area 19. The attachment may be done using mechanical fasteners (not shown), such as bolts and nuts or other suitable attachment means. Thus, the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 provide an outer surface 13, 14 which a building element (not shown) may be attached to, where the outer surface of the spacer element 24 provides an attachment surface for the building element, in a horizontal manner, where the building element may be attached along the length of the first beam 17. The two surfaces are in the same plane to each other, which means that a building element, such as a flat wall may be attached directly to the surface area, where there will be no space between the outer surface and the wall.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a building construction 1, where the primary support member 2 is an angled support member, and the secondary support member 31 is an angled support member, in a T-shape, where the secondary support member has an outer facing area 32, and an angled part 33, that extends from a central area of the secondary support member 31. In this construction, the building construction system comprises a primary first beam 34, a secondary first beam 35 and a tertiary first beam 36, where each beam is connected to a first support member 2 and a secondary support member 2, 31, and thereby providing horizontal support to each support member, 2, 3, 31. In this view, it may be seen that the outer surfaces 13, 14 of the support members are coextensive with the outer surfaces 24 of the spacers 22, of the beams 34, 35, 36, and where a planar building element 37, 38, 39 has been attached between the support members 2, 3, 31 and extend across each of the first beams 34, 35, 36, allowing the planar building elements to be attached along their horizontal length and thereby securely fixed to the building construction, and being part of the building construction 1. The building elements 37, 38, 39 may abut each other, where a seal (not shown) may be provided between the elements in order to ensure that the joint between the building elements are water, vapour and weather-proof.

FIG. 3 shows a schematically sectional view of opposing building constructions 1, 1′, where the opposing building constructions 1, 1′ may be connected to each other via one or more building constructions comprising support members and first beams and/or second beams. Here it may be seen how the horizontal reinforcement members 28, 28′ of the first beams 17 may be utilized to provide support for horizontal support structure 40, that may extend from one horizontal reinforcement member 28 to the opposing reinforcement member 28′, where the horizontal support structures 40 may be utilized e.g. to mount a ceiling to close off an upper part of a living space, and/or may also be utilized to provide support for a floor on top of the ceiling, if the building has a second floor. If a building has a second floor, the length of the support member may be increased to accommodate the second floor, and allowing a secondary first beam to be attached between the support members above the primary first beam.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic front view of a building construction system 1, seen in a direction from the outside and in, having a primary support member 2, a secondary support member 3 that area anchored in a foundation 8. The system 1 comprises a first beam 17 and a second beam 27 that are attached to the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 in a horizontal direction. The building construction system also comprises a building element 37, that abuts the outer surface of the support members 2, 3 and the beams 17, 27, where the building element 37, which may be a planar wall, such as a fibreglass wall, is attached to the to the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3, as well as the first 17 and the second beams, via attachment members 41, that are positioned at the periphery of the building element 37. The dashed lines show the structures that area behind the building element 37. The actual positioning of the peripheral areas of the wall structure 37, is not important in this example, as this is only to show the structure of the building construction system 1. When one peripheral area of a building element abuts another peripheral area of another building element, creating an extended wall, the peripheral area may be positioned on the centre (in a horizontal direction) of the support element 2, 3. If the wall is a corner wall, or an end wall, the peripheral area of the wall may abut the vertical edge of the of the support member.

FIG. 5A shows a perspective view of a support member 2, 3 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3 comprise one or more openings 50. The openings 50 are here substantially circular, but may for example have other cross-sectional shapes, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, cross-shaped, and/or star-shaped. The openings 50 are located on each leg 54, 56 of the L-shaped support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, there may only be openings on one of the legs 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The support member 2, 3 comprises six openings, where three openings are on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the primary and/or secondary support member may comprise at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings (such as at least 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, or 100 openings on each leg 54, 56). The primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3 may comprise equivalent openings on the outer surface 13, 14, or alternatively the openings 50 on the inner surface 11, 12 may be extending through the thickness of the support member 2, 3 and extend through to the outer surface 13, 14 from the inner surface 11, 12.

In some embodiments, the one or more openings 50 comprise one or more attachment arrangements. The openings 50 may be configured to provide a support for an attachment means. In other words, the openings may comprise or form part of an attachment arrangement for attaching one or more parts of the building construction system 1 to the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3. For example, the first beam 17 and/or the second beam 27 may be attached to an inner facing part 11, 12 of the primary and/or secondary support member 2, 3, where the connection may occur in the first 18 and/or the second connection area 19. The attachment may be done using mechanical fasteners (not shown), such as bolts, nuts, screws, and/or rivets or other suitable attachment means. Thus, the primary support member 2 and the secondary support member 3 provide an outer surface 13, 14 which a building element (not shown) may be attached to, where the outer surface of the spacer element 24 provides an attachment surface for the building element, in a horizontal manner, where the building element may be attached along the length of the first beam 17. The two surfaces are in the same plane to each other, which means that a building element, such as a flat wall may be attached directly to the surface area, where there will be no space between the outer surface and the wall.

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 5A. As can be seen, the openings 50 are present on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The openings 50 have a size d2 and the center of the openings 50 is at a distance d1 of a corner of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the openings 50 may be located at different distances from the corner of the support member 2, 3, and the distance d1 may therefore be different for the openings 50 on one leg compared to the distance d1 for the openings 50 on the other leg. The size d2 may be a diameter if the openings are substantially circular or may for example be a width (such as the width of a square opening).

FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of a support member 2, 3 according to the invention. As in the embodiment of FIG. 5A, the support member 2, 3 of FIG. 6A comprises one or more openings 50. The openings 50 are here substantially circular, but may for example have other cross-sectional shapes, such as squared, rectangular, triangular, cross-shaped, and/or star-shaped. The primary and/or secondary support member 2,3 comprise a support member reinforcement 52 at the inner facing part 11, 12 of the support member 2, 3. The support member reinforcement 52 has in this embodiment an L-shaped cross section (as can be seen in FIG. 6B). The support member reinforcement 52 provides a hollow space between the support member reinforcement 52 and the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may be full (such as a reinforcement bar) and may therefore not provide a hollow space between the support member reinforcement and the support member. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement may for example have an arc-shaped cross-section. The support member reinforcement 52 provides an increased structural strength of the support member 2, 3, thereby providing increased structural stability of the support member 2, 3 and in turn of the building construction system 1.

As can be seen, the openings 50 are here located further away from the corner of the support member 2, 3 (see also FIG. 6B). However, this may not always be necessary. In some embodiments, the support member reinforcement 52 may be smaller, such that the openings 50 may be located substantially at the same location as in FIG. 5A, i.e. the distance d3 may substantially correspond to distance d1.

FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional view of the support member of FIG. 6A. As can be seen, the openings 50 are present on each leg 54, 56 of the support member 2, 3. The openings 50 have a size d4 and the center of the openings 50 is at a distance d3 of a corner of the support member 2, 3. In some embodiments, the openings 50 may be located at different distances from the corner of the support member 2, 3, and the distance d3 may therefore vary and/or be different for the openings 50 on one leg compared to the distance d3 for the openings 50 on the other leg. The size d4 may be a diameter if the openings are substantially circular or may for example be a width (such as the width of a square opening).

The dimensions d2 and d4 may be comprised in the range 5 mm to 100 mm (comprising the end points of the range). For example, 5 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, 30 mm, 50 mm, or 100 mm of width and/or diameter. The distance d1 and d2 may be comprised in the range 10 mm to 200 mm (comprising the end points of the range). For example, 10 mm, 20 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, 60 mm, 120 mm, and/or 200 mm.

A building construction system in accordance with the present disclosure may include a plurality of elements as shown in FIG. 1, to create a structure that may be seen as being closed from above, where building elements (walls) extend along the entire periphery of a building construction, and close off a volume inside the walls that may be seen as the area to be closed off from the environment.

It is to be noted that the scaling of the figures is of illustrative purposes, where the scaling may not be representative of an actual building construction system.

It is to be noted that the word “comprising” does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed.

It is to be noted that the words “a” or “an” preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the exemplary embodiments may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several “means”, “units” or “devices” may be represented by the same item of hardware.

Although features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed invention, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed invention is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

-   -   1 Building construction system     -   2 Primary support member     -   3 Secondary support member     -   4 First end of the primary support member     -   5 Second end of the primary support member     -   6 First end of the secondary support member     -   7 Second end of the secondary support member     -   8 Foundation     -   9 Inner facing area of building     -   10 Outer facing area of building     -   11 Inner facing surface of primary support member     -   12 Inner facing surface of secondary support member     -   13 Outer facing surface of primary support member     -   14 Outer facing surface of secondary support member     -   15 First part of primary and/or secondary support member     -   16 Second part of primary and/or secondary support member     -   17 First beam     -   18 First connection area of first and/or second beam     -   19 Second connection area of first and/or second beam     -   20 Outer facing surface of first connection area     -   21 Outer facing surface of second connection area     -   22 Spacer element     -   23 Outer facing part of first and/or second beam     -   24 Outer surface of spacer element     -   25 First proximal end of primary support member     -   26 First proximal end of secondary support member     -   27 Second beam     -   28 Horizontal reinforcement member     -   29 Inner facing surface of first beam     -   30 Surface area of horizontal reinforcement member     -   31 Secondary support member T shaped     -   32 Outer facing area     -   33 Angled part     -   34 Primary first beam     -   35 Secondary first beam     -   36 Tertiary first beam     -   37 First planar building element     -   38 Secondary planar building element     -   39 Tertiary planar building element     -   40 Horizontal support structures     -   41 Attachment member 

1. A building construction system comprising: a primary support member having a first end and a second end, an inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part, a secondary support member having a first end and a second end, inner facing part and an opposite outer facing part a first beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part, where the outer facing part of the first connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the primary support member and an outer facing part of the second connecting part is configured to be attached to the inner facing part of the secondary support member, and where outer facing part of the first beam comprises a spacer element that is configured to extend from the primary support member to the secondary support member where an outer facing part of the spacer element is configured to be coextensive to the outer facing part of the primary support member and/or the outer facing part of the secondary support member.
 2. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the building construction system comprises a building element having an inner surface and an outer surface, where the inner surface is configured to be attached to the outer facing part of the primary and/or secondary support member and the outer facing part of the first beam.
 3. The building construction system in accordance with claim 2, where the building element has two or more attachment members that extend from the inner surface of the building element.
 4. The building construction system in accordance with claim 3, where the attachment members are adapted to mate with opposing attachment members on the primary support member, the secondary support member and/or the first beam.
 5. The building construction system in accordance with claim 2, where a peripheral area of the building element comprises a connecting surface which is configured to abut the outer facing part of the first beam and an outer facing part of the primary and/or the secondary support member.
 6. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the system further comprises a foundation, where the first end of the primary and/or the secondary support members are configured to be attached to the foundation.
 7. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the spacer element has a first thickness which corresponds to a second thickness, where the second thickness is the distance from the inner facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member to the outer facing surface of the primary support member and/or the secondary support member, respectively.
 8. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the inside facing part of the first beam comprises a horizontal reinforcement member that extends away from the first beam and in a direction inwards.
 9. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the inner facing part of the first beam comprises a vertical reinforcement member that extends downwards from the first beam and in a downwards direction.
 10. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, where the first beam comprises a flange creating a horizontal support.
 11. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the system comprises a second beam having a first connecting part, a second connecting part, an inner facing part and an outer facing part.
 12. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the primary and/or secondary support member comprise one or more openings.
 13. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the one or more openings comprise one or more attachment arrangements.
 14. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the primary and/or secondary support member comprise a support member reinforcement at the inner facing part.
 15. The building construction system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the first beam is configured to be pivotably attached to the primary support member and/or the secondary support member. 